Macerino honored in Vernon as Hall of Fame inductee

Photo by Daniel Freel/New Jersey Herald - Retired Vernon Schools Superintendent Anthony Macerino laughs with Vernon High School teacher Carol Cummins after he is honored with an induction into the school district's Hall of Fame.

Photo by Daniel Freel/New Jersey Herald - Retired Vernon Schools Superintendent Anthony Macerino, left, displays the school colors on his tie as he shakes hands with Vernon Board of Education member Brad Sparta.

Posted: Jun. 19, 2017 12:01 am

HERALD STAFF REPORT

newsroom@njherald.com

VERNON -- The Board of Education honored retired former superintendent Anthony Macerino as the first inductee to the school district's revived "Hall of Fame" last week.

Macerino, who led the creation of the district's original Hall of Fame in the mid-1990s, attended Thursday's board meeting, where he credited the administrators, teachers and central office staff with whom he worked for many years for many of the accomplishments achieved under his watch.

"This induction belongs to all of those individuals," said Macerino, who retired from the district in 2009.

Elizabeth Cleary, president of the Vernon Township Education Association, praised the choice of Macerino as "a fabulous selection" and called him "a moral compass" for having consistently done the right thing as a leader and educator.

"For many years, Tony Macerino was that moral compass for this district, and I can't think of a better person to have been selected to this Hall of Fame," said Cleary, a history teacher at the high school. "I'm proud to have walked a good portion of my professional life next to him."

The newly revived Hall of Fame, like the original, will aim to honor educators, coaches, students and others for their outstanding contributions to the Vernon Township Public Schools,

The proposal to revive the hall was discussed at a board meeting earlier this year by Assistant Superintendent Charles McKay. Not long afterward, an induction committee made up of teachers, community members, board members and school officials was formed and decided Macerino would make a fitting inductee to the reconstituted hall.

Prior to his retirement, the last inductions to the hall took place in 2007. Afterward, the hall ceased to exist.

In Case You Missed It

In 1907, Dr. Thomas L. Bennett incorporated the F.H. Bennett Biscuit Company in New York City. The company originally had its bakery located near the corner of Avenue D and 19th Street on the west side of Manhattan.